FERC licenses two projects, takes applications for four in April

June 2, 2011

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued two hydropower licenses and received license applications for four projects in April, according to the commission's monthly update.

The Energy Infrastructure Update for April 2011, compiled by FERC's Office of Energy Projects, said FERC issued licenses to: o CRD Hydroelectric LLC for the 36.39-MW Red Rock project (No. 12576), to be built at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Red Rock Dam on the Des Moines River in Marion County Iowa; and o City of Spearfish, S.D., for the existing unlicensed 4-MW Spearfish project (No. 12775) on Spearfish Creek in Lawrence County, S.D.

Developer Symbiotics filed license applications in April for two projects at Corps of Engineers dams on the Ohio River: o Uniontown Hydro LLC for the 96-MW Uniontown project (No. 12958) at the Corps' John T. Myers Locks and Dam near Uniontown, Ky.; and o Newburgh Hydro LLC for the 65-MW Newburgh project (No. 12962) at the Corps' Newburgh Locks and Dam near Newburgh, Indiana.

The John T. Myers and Newburgh dams are among several Corps facilities on the Ohio that have been subject to hydro project filings over the past 20 years, many of which failed to advance. The exception is American Municipal Power, which has built the 42-MW Belleville project and is developing six more plants at Corps dams.[Native Advertisement]The commission also received a license application from Coleman Hydro LLC for the 750-kW Coleman project (No. 13629), to be built on Little Timber Creek, a tributary of the Lemhi River, in Lemhi County, Idaho.

Nevada Irrigation District filed a relicense application in April for the 79.3-MW Yuba-Bear project (No. 2266) on Middle Yuba River, Canyon Creek, Rucker Creek, and Bear River in Nevada, Placer, and Sierra counties of California. The applicant proposes adding a new powerhouse and turbine to increase installed capacity by 11.4 MW.

FERC, which previously used the infrastructure update as an in-house tool, began making the monthly update public beginning with December 2010. The report allows the public to track the activities of the Office of Energy Projects in the areas of hydropower, natural gas, electric generation, and electric transmission.